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Review: Resident Evil 7

A new age of horror is here and those with weak stomachs best look away. Resident Evil 7: Biohazard is the latest entry in Capcom’s acclaimed survival horror series. Set in backwater Louisiana, the player must navigate the mysterious abandoned Baker farmhouse to solve the mystery of the protagonist’s missing wife Mia.

As it turns out, the Baker’s home may not be so abandoned after all.

Every creek in the floorboards of the decrepit mansion can send shivers down your spine, with tension conveyed effectively and subtlety through deceptively quiet moments that put the player on edge. Simple tasks like opening doors and navigating hallways take on a new meaning as the atmosphere coaxes you into being as careful as possible, waiting for scares that are sparse enough to lead you into a false sense of security and thoughtful enough to not feel as though you are being harassed by a digital jack-in-the-box.

The use of a first-person perspective has been a divisive choice as it’s a departure from the standard third-person, over-the-shoulder viewpoint found in every other entry in the series. This decision on Capcom’s part has paid off as the game uses the camera very effectively to convey a distinctly claustrophobic feeling that contributes well to the frightening atmosphere.

Wandering the mansion puts forward the feeling of being somewhere you shouldn’t be, while you slowly tread through the creaky hallways looking for solutions to puzzles while avoiding detection from the home’s psychotic residents.

The texture and overall look of the game are stunning, with an amazing level of attention to detail. It’s interesting to see art direction that is supposed to be so ugly and dilapidated look so beautiful in its own right. From the plants and muddy swamps of the bayou to the cockroaches and thick layers of dust coating the rotting walls and furniture.

One of the main reasons to pick this game up is the impressive implementation of full virtual-reality support. The PlayStation VR handles the experience with fidelity not found in other titles on the platform. If you thought this game was frightening on screen, it surpasses those feelings 10-fold in VR.

Not once did I feel motion sick during the experience and unlike many other PSVR titles I did not find the need to fiddle with the options menu to adjust settings save for one instance during the tutorial.

The only issue with VR mode is a slight drop in visual quality that comes with console VR that leads you to miss out on some of the aforementioned level of detail, but this is effectively compensated for by the drastic jump in immersion, especially with such a well put together atmosphere.

The quality of the writing is top notch as well. Over the course of the Resident Evil series we have seen the horror elements take a back seat in favor of action. This game is a welcome return to form and brings back a sense of nostalgia of the fear invoked in the original game on the PlayStation 1.

The real stars of the show come in the form of the horrific Baker family.

Without spoiling any details, the Bakers are fantastic antagonists and make for a more compelling plot than your standard zombie outbreak. The Bakers all have unique and creepy personalities that give off a real “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” vibe, with every encounter with them feeling intimidating and sweat inducing.

Running from the Bakers brings forward an astonishing sense of panic as you scramble to unlock doors or hide in the environment while they taunt you.

You could tell that Capcom knew what they were doing going into this project, paying close attention to the positive responses garnered by Konami’s P.T., which was set to become the next entry in the Silent Hill series before being cancelled.

Capcom clearly sought to fill in a gap left by P.T. with this release and they nailed it.

The only major complaint I have about the game is that it’s a bit on the short side, clocking in at about nine hours to complete, though I feel that if there was more to it then it might hurt the quality of the tight and concise experience.

Overall Resident Evil 7: Biohazard is worth the buy with or without VR. The unique nature of the game will likely make waves in the survival horror genre for years to come. Pick it up on PS4, Xbox One or PC.